Testimonials

In the various roles he has undertaken through the years, Val J. Halamandaris has been a singular driving force behind the policy and program initiatives resulting in the recognition of home health care as a viable alternative to institutionalization. His dedication to consumer advocacy, which enhances the quality of life and dignity of those receiving home health care, merits VNA HealthCare Group’s highest recognition and deepest respect.

- VNA HealthCare Group

I have the highest respect for them, especially for the nurses, aides and therapists, who devote their lives to caring for people with disabilities, the infirm and dying Americans. There are few more noble professions.

- President Barack Obama

Home health care agencies do such a wonderful job in this country helping people to be able to remain at home and allowing them to receive services

Home care is a combination of compassion and efficiency. It is less expensive than institutional care...but at the same time it is a more caring, human, intimate experience, and therefore it has a greater human element...it’s a big mistake not to try to maximize it and find ways to give people the home care option over either nursing homes, hospitals or other institutions

- Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Newt Gingrich (R-GA)

Medicaid covers long-term care, but only for low-income families. And Medicare only pays for care that is connected to a hospital discharge....our health care system must cover these vital services...[and] we should promote home-based care, which most people prefer, instead of the institutional care that we emphasize now.

- Former U.S. Senator Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-CD)

We need incentives to...keep people in home health care settings...It’s dramatically less expensive than long term care.

- U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Home care is clearly the wave of the future. It’s clearly where patients want to be cared for. I come from an ethnic family and when a member of our family is severely ill, we would never consider taking them to get institutional care. That’s true of many families for both cultural and financial reasons. If patients have a choice of where they want to be cared for, where it’s done the right way, they choose home.

- Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services

A couple of years ago, I spent a little bit of time with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice and its president, Val J. Halamandaris, and I was just blown away. What impressed me so much was that they talked about what they do as opposed to just the strategies of how to deal with Washington or Sacramento or Albany or whatever the case may be. Val is a fanatic about care, and it comes through in every way known to mankind. It comes through in the speakers he invites to their events; it comes through in all the stuff he shares.

- Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence

Val’s home care organization brings thousands of caregivers together into a dynamic organization that provides them with valuable resources and tools to be even better in their important work. He helps them build self-esteem, which leads to self-motivation.

- Mike Vance, former Dean of Disney and author of Think Out of the Box

Val is one of the greatest advocates for seniors in America. He goes beyond the call of duty every time.

Val has brought the problems, the challenges, and the opportunities out in the open for everyone to look at. He is a visionary pointing the direction for us.

- Margaret (Peg) Cushman, Professor of Nursing and former President of the Visiting Nurses Association

Although Val has chosen to stay in the background, he deserves much of the credit for what was accomplished both at the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, where he was closely associated with me and at the House Select Committee on Aging, where he was Congressman Claude Pepper’s senior counsel and closest advisor. He put together more hearings on the subject of aging, wrote more reports, drafted more bills, and had more influence on the direction of events than anyone before him or since.

- Frank E. Moss, former U.S. Senator

Val’s most important contribution is pulling together all elements of home health care and being able to organize and energize the people involved in the industry.

- Frank E. Moss, former U.S. Senator

Anyone working on health care issues in Congress knows the name Val J. Halamandaris.

- Kathleen Gardner Cravedi, former Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Aging

Without your untiring support and active participation, the voices of people advocating meaningful and compassionate health care reform may not have been heard by national leaders.

All of us have been members of many organizations and NAHC is simply the best there is. NAHC aspires to excellence in every respect; its staff has been repeatedly honored as the best in Washington; the organization lives by the highest values and has demonstrated a passionate interest in the well-being of patients and providers.

- Elaine Stephens, Director of Home Care of Steward Home Care/Steward Health Systems and former NAHC C

Home care increasingly is one of the basic building blocks in the developing system of long-term care. On both economic and recuperative bases, home health care will continue to grow as an essential service for individuals, for families and for the community as a whole.

- Former U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

NCOA is excited to be part of this great event and honored to have such influential award winners in the field of aging.

- National Council of Aging

Health care at home…is something we need more of, not less of. Let us make a commitment to preventive and long-term care. Let us encourage home care as an alternative to nursing homes and give folks a little help to have their parents there.

- Former President Bill Clinton

Are You Ready to Succeed in Home Care and Hospice? Take the Quiz and Find Out!

September 11, 2017 02:44 PM

Are you someone who wants to succeed in the home care and/or hospice industry? (If not, why are you reading this?) As the baby boom generation continues into its retirement years, huge opportunities are opening up in an industry considered by many to be the fastest-growing in the entire country. How to take advantage of these opportunities? I’m glad you asked the question because NAHC has the answer – at the Home Care and Hospice Conference and Expo in Long Beach, California in October.

Whether you’re a budding leader in home care and hospice or a clinician who crossed over to management, you could probably benefit from some helpful advice from people who have been to the top. NAHC has those people and we can put you in the same room with them at our pre-conference session 802: How to Succeed When You’re New-ish in the Business.

Regardless of a leader’s background, it can be complicated to prioritize agency initiatives in a world where everything needs to be done today – or yesterday. However, our faculty will be providing a toolkit to help navigate these challenges.

Maybe you think you’re ready to be a leader and don’t need the advice of top experts in the field like Brenda Beggs, Marcylle Combs MS, RN, BS, CHCE, and Samantha McKay MS, BS, CHCE. Well, take this multiple choice quiz below and find out if you’re ready to be a leader. (Answers at the bottom of this article.)

1. Under the home health PPS, HHAs can appeal all of the following EXCEPT:

A. A denial for unnecessary services by the fiscal intermediary

B. Home Health Resource Group (HHRG) downcoding by the fiscal intermediary

C. The anticipated initial episode payment as determined by the fiscal intermediary

D. A denial for non-covered services by the fiscal intermediary

2. OASIS does all of the following EXCEPT:

A. Benchmarks agency performance

B. Demonstrates outcomes of care

C. Assists in establishing Home Health Resource Groups

D. Provides comprehensive patient evaluation

3. A corporate compliance plan should follow guidelines established by:

A. FBI

B. CMS

C. HHS OIG

D. IRS

4. The primary reason employees attempt to unionize is:

A. Low wages

B. Lack of job security

C. Management practices

D. Threat of layoff

5. Select the BEST answer: The CMS requirement to measure home health patient satisfaction survey is called:

A. Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems

This pre-conference will be of great value to executives who might not have a background in home health or who are new to management.

Additionally, attendees will learn about the importance of encouraging new leaders (often rising from the clinical side of the industry) to learn about the business. Issues such as HR faux pas, melding business and care-specific skills, and prioritizing business tasks against clinical tasks, will be discussed, as well as how to foster better relationships between clinical and case managers.

Anyone new to management or looking to give their executive career in home care and hospice a jump start will find this pre-conference session invaluable.